


Cersei Lannister: making enemies

by Metabird (wheatear)



Series: Character archetypes [13]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Character Analysis, Character Study, Dysfunctional Family, Enemies, Female villains, Game of Thrones Spoilers, Gen, King's Landing, Kings & Queens, Meta, Nonfiction, Ruling Families, Westerosi Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:29:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23413051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheatear/pseuds/Metabird
Summary: "Anyone who isn't us is an enemy."A meta analysis of Cersei Lannister's fatal flaw.
Series: Character archetypes [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655167
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	Cersei Lannister: making enemies

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the halfamoon challenge at Dreamwidth.

"Anyone who isn't us is an enemy."  
  
With an attitude like that, it's not surprising that **Cersei Lannister** makes a lot of enemies. And yet despite that, she's a formidable player in the war for the throne.  
  
One thing that strikes me about Cersei is how consistently close she is to the seat of power in Westeros i.e. the Iron Throne. I mean that literally: apart from the very first episode where she visits Winterfell, I don't think we ever see her away from King's Landing. Practically every other character travels around at some point, but not Cersei. And given that she lives for almost a full eight seasons, if the game of thrones were judged by sheer proximity, Cersei would win for sure.  
  
I don't mean that entirely facetiously either: it's no coincidence that Cersei stays in King's Landing. She knows it's her strongest position. First her husband is the king, then two of her sons, and then finally she ascends to the throne herself. King's Landing is her fortress, and Jaime is her knight. It's this and the protection of the Lannister family (in particular, Lannister gold, and of course Tywin Lannister) that allows Cersei to make so many enemies and yet stay in power for so long.  
  
But every victory comes at a cost. Every time Cersei kills someone or threatens someone or uses someone, every time she or her family make a play for power, they win but they make enemies in the process. Enemies like Arya, Littlefinger, Olenna. Victories don't come for free: they have a cost. Allies die or switch sides and little by little the Lannisters' grip on power dwindles even as they spend more to keep it.  
  
What's interesting is that if I look back at how the plot unfolded over many seasons, I would pin the start of Cersei's downfall not on any of her plays for power or in making an enemy of the Starks, but rather in her self-defeating hatred for her brother, Tyrion. If Cersei hadn't hated Tyrion so much that she blamed him for her son's death and tried to have him killed, then Tyrion wouldn't have shot their father dead and I honestly think that Tywin being alive would have made a massive difference. Tyrion also wouldn't have gone to serve Daenerys Targaryen, and while you could argue that she would have done better without him given his flawed battle planning in later seasons, it's equally possible that Dany might have failed without Tyrion's knowledge of Westeros. Imagine Tyrion at Cersei's side, negotiating with Dany when she comes to Westeros. Could have been a completely different story.  
  
Family makes a big difference in _Game of Thrones_. Family solidarity helps the great houses to stay in power, and this is where I think Cersei failed. The family didn't hold together. Even Jaime, though he returned at the end, wasn't 100% consistently on Cersei's side, and by the time we got to the end it really was only Cersei and Jaime.  
  
"Anyone who isn't us is an enemy," Cersei said. And despite what it cost her, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love Cersei's brittleness, her ruthlessness, and her open-eyed distrust of everyone around her. Perhaps more purely than anyone else, Cersei knew what it was like to have power and how to keep it, because that's what she spent eight seasons doing.


End file.
